Recognizing financial document images

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the invention are directed to methods, apparatus systems and computer program products that provide for using real-time video analysis for recognizing financial document images by capturing a real-time video stream using a mobile device, wherein the video stream features one or more financial documents, analyzing and correlating the images in the real-time video stream to the images necessary to process the financial document, providing notice to a user of additional images needed to process the financial document and communicating the information associated with the financial document to a financial institution to complete a transaction once sufficient images of the financial document have been captured to process the financial document.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 61/450,213, filed Mar. 8, 2011, entitled “Real-Time Video ImageAnalysis Applications for Commerce Activity,” and U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 61/508,944, filed Jul. 18, 2011, entitled“Recognizing Financial Document Images,” the entirety of each of whichis incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Modern mobile devices, such as smart phones and the like, combinemultiple technologies to provide the user with a vast array ofcapabilities. For example, many smart phones are equipped withsignificant processing power, sophisticated multi-tasking operatingsystems, and high-bandwidth Internet connection capabilities. Moreover,such devices often have additional features that are becomingincreasingly more common as standardized features. Such featuresinclude, but are not limited to, location-determining devices, such asGlobal Positioning System (GPS) devices; sensor devices, such asaccelerometers and touch pads; and high-resolution video cameras.

As the hardware capabilities of such mobile devices have increased, soto have the applications (i.e., software) that rely on the hardwareadvances. One such example of innovative software is a category known asaugmented reality (AR), or more generally referred to as mediatedreality. One such example of an AR application platform is Layar,available from Layar, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

The Layar platform technology analyzes real-time video data, locationdata, compass direction data and the like in combination withinformation related to the objects, locations or the like in the videostream to create browse-able “hot-spots” or “tags” that are superimposedon the mobile device display, resulting in an experience described as“reality browsing”.

Presently, most financial institutions require their customers to visittraditional deposit locations, such as banking centers, automated tellermachines (ATMs), and the like, in order to deposit cash, checks, and/orother deposit items. However, traveling to and from a traditionaldeposit location in order to make a deposit is increasingly viewed byfinancial institution customers as burdensome, time-consuming, andwasteful.

If a financial institution has a mechanism in place to capture deposititems remotely, it is done with the capture of a single image and/orstatic image and the image is not actively processed. This results indelays in the processing of transactions as deficiencies in the capturedimages are not discovered as the image is being captured and thefinancial institution and the customer will be burdened with having toverify and correct the originally captured image.

Therefore, a need exists to implement real-time video analysis, i.e., ARor the like, to assist in the recognition of financial documents toenable financial institution customers to engage in deposit transactionsin ways that are easier, more efficient, and less costly.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of one or more embodimentsof the present invention in order to provide a basic understanding ofsuch embodiments. This summary is not an extensive overview of allcontemplated embodiments, and is intended to neither identify key orcritical elements of all embodiments nor delineate the scope of any orall embodiments. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one ormore embodiments in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detaileddescription that is presented later.

Methods, apparatus systems and computer program products are describedherein that provide for using real-time video analysis, such as AR orthe like to assist the user with the recognition of financial documents.Through the use of real-time image object recognition, magnetic inkcharacter recognition (MICR) lines, endorsements, watermarks, accountnumbers, payee identity, payor identity, financial institution identity,deposit amount, appearance of a deposit item, type of a deposit item,text, shapes, logos, colors, locations and other features that can berecognized in a real-time video stream to identify, authenticate andprocess financial documents.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the one or moreembodiments comprise the features hereinafter fully described andparticularly pointed out in the claims. The following description andthe annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative featuresof the one or more embodiments. These features are indicative, however,of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of variousembodiments may be employed, and this description is intended to includeall such embodiments and their equivalents.

Some embodiments of the present invention provide a method wherein amobile device is used to capture a real-time video stream that includesone or more images of a financial document. A processor analyzes thereal-time video stream to identify images that may be used to processthe financial document. The processor then correlates the collectedimages of the financial document to the information needed to processthe financial document. If additional images are needed to process thefinancial document, the mobile device provides notice to the user. Oncesufficient images of the financial document have been captured themobile device communicates the information associated with the financialdocument to a financial institution to complete a transaction.

In some embodiments, the financial document is a check, cash, draft,bond, share, bill of exchange, future, option, money order, promissorynote, deposit slip, security, stock, invoice or statement. In certainembodiments, the notice to the user that additional images are needed toprocess the financial document comprises instructions to the user of howto manipulate the mobile device to capture the required images. Thetransaction may be a deposit, transfer, sale, payment or exchange.

In some embodiments, the method for recognizing financial documentimages includes the additional step of presenting one or more indicatorsvia the display of the mobile device, each indicator being associatedwith an image that may be used to process the financial document. Incertain embodiments, the one or more indicators are interactive allowingthe user to access additional information associated with the image ortake an action using the information associated with the image. In somesuch embodiments, the action taken may be making a payment, transferringfunds to a financial institution or depositing funds with a financialinstitution. The indicators may also be a representation of the amountof images captured as compared to the number of images remaining to becaptured before the financial document may be processed.

In certain embodiments, the method also includes the additional step ofcreating a substitute image, such as an enhanced payment order, usingthe captured images of the financial document. In such embodiments,communicating the information associated with the financial document toa financial institution comprises communicating the substitute image tothe financial institution to complete a transaction.

Embodiments of the invention also provide an apparatus where theapparatus has a device for capturing a real-time video stream thatincludes one or more images of a financial document, a display operablyconnected to the device, a processor operably connected to the deviceand the display and configured to analyze the real-time video stream toidentify images that may be used to process the financial document andcorrelate the images to the images needed to process the document. Theprocessor is also configured to provide notice to the user of additionalimages needed to process the financial document. Such an apparatus mayalso include a communication device operably connected to the processorfor communicating information associated with the financial document toa financial institution to complete a transaction once sufficient imagesof the financial document have been captured to process the financialdocument.

In some embodiments of the apparatus, the images of the financialdocument being captured by the device are from a check, cash, draft,bond, share, bill of exchange, future, option, money order, promissorynote, deposit slip, security, invoice or statement. The notice providedto the user by the apparatus may comprise instructions to the user ofhow to manipulate the device to capture the required images. Therelevant transaction may be a deposit, transfer, sale, payment orexchange.

In certain embodiments of the apparatus, the processor is furtherconfigured to present one or more indicators via the display, whereineach indicator is associated with an image that may be used to processthe financial document. In certain embodiments, the one or moreindicators are interactive allowing the user to access additionalinformation associated with the image or take an action using theinformation associated with the image. The action may include making apayment, transferring funds to a financial institution or depositingfunds with a financial institution. The indicators may also be arepresentation of the amount of images captured as compared to thenumber of images remaining to be captured before the financial documentmay be processed.

In further embodiments of the apparatus, the processor is alsoconfigured to create a substitute image using the captured images of thefinancial document. The substitute image may be an enhanced paymentorder. The substitute image may then be communicated, using thecommunication device, to a financial institution to complete atransaction.

Embodiments of the invention also provide a computer program productcomprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium havingcomputer-executable code stored thereon. In one embodiment, thecomputer-executable code includes: a first code portion stored in memoryand configured to capture, via a mobile device, a real-time video streamthat includes one or more images of a financial document, a second codeportion configured to analyze the real-time video stream to identifyimages that may be used to process the financial document; a third codeportion configured to correlate the captured images of the financialdocument to the information needed to process the financial document; afourth code portion configured to provide notice to the user ofadditional images needed to process the financial document; and a fifthcode portion configured to communicate instructions to a financialinstitution to complete a transaction once sufficient images of thefinancial document have been captured to process the financial document.

In other embodiments the computer program product will include a sixthcode portion stored in the memory and configured to present one or moreindicators, via a display, each indicator being associated with an imagethat may be used to process the financial document. Some embodimentswill also include a seventh code portion that is stored in the memoryand configured to create a substitute image using the captured images ofthe financial document. In such embodiments, communicating theinformation associated with the financial document to a financialinstitution comprises communicating the substitute image to thefinancial institution to complete the transaction.

The features, functions, and advantages that have been discussed may beachieved independently in various embodiments of the present inventionor may be combined with yet other embodiments, further details of whichcan be seen with reference to the following description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Having thus described embodiments of the invention in general terms,reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are notnecessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram illustrating a process flow of an apparatus orsystem for recognizing financial document images, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a mobile device, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an AR environment, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a mobile device, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a process flow for an apparatus orsystem for recognizing financial document images, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary display page of a user interface forreceiving notice of additional images needed to process a financialdocument, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 7. illustrates an exemplary display page of a user interface fordisplaying one or more indicators associated with a financial document,in accordance with an embodiment of the invention

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described more fullyhereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some,but not all, embodiments of the invention are shown. Indeed, theinvention may be embodied in many different forms and should not beconstrued as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, theseembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicablelegal requirements. In the following description, for purposes ofexplanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to providea thorough understanding of one or more embodiments. It may be evident;however, that such embodiment(s) may be practiced without these specificdetails. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

Various embodiments or features will be presented in terms of systemsthat may include a number of devices, components, modules, and the like.It is to be understood and appreciated that the various systems mayinclude additional devices, components, modules, etc. and/or may notinclude all of the devices, components, modules etc. discussed inconnection with the figures. A combination of these approaches may alsobe used.

The steps and/or actions of a method or algorithm described inconnection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be embodieddirectly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, orin a combination of the two. A software module may reside in RAM memory,flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, a harddisk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage mediumknown in the art. An exemplary storage medium may be coupled to theprocessor, such that the processor can read information from, and writeinformation to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storagemedium may be integral to the processor. Further, in some embodiments,the processor and the storage medium may reside in an ApplicationSpecific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). In the alternative, the processorand the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a computingdevice. Additionally, in some embodiments, the events and/or actions ofa method or algorithm may reside as one or any combination or set ofcodes and/or instructions on a machine-readable medium and/orcomputer-readable medium, which may be incorporated into a computerprogram product.

In one or more embodiments, the functions described may be implementedin hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. Ifimplemented in software, the functions may be stored or transmitted asone or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium.Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media andcommunication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of acomputer program from one place to another. A storage medium may be anyavailable media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example,and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM,EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage orother magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used tocarry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or datastructures, and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connectionmay be termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if software istransmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using acoaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line(DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave,then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, orwireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave areincluded in the definition of medium. “Disk” and “disc”, as used herein,include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatiledisc (DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray disc where disks usually reproducedata magnetically, while discs usually reproduce data optically withlasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within thescope of computer-readable media.

Embodiments of the present invention are described below with referenceto flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products. It may be understood that eachblock of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and/orcombinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or blockdiagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. Thesecomputer program instructions may be provided to a processor of ageneral purpose computer, special purpose computer, or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such thatthe instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer orother programmable data processing apparatus, create mechanisms forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable memory that can direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readablememory produce an article of manufacture including instruction meanswhich implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block(s).

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series ofoperational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmableapparatus to produce a computer-implemented process such that theinstructions which execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus provide steps for implementing the functions/acts specified inthe flowchart and/or block diagram block(s). Alternatively, computerprogram implemented steps or acts may be combined with operator or humanimplemented steps or acts in order to carry out an embodiment of theinvention.

Thus, methods, systems, computer programs and the like are hereindisclosed that provide for using real-time video analysis, such as AR orthe like to assist the user with the recognition of financial documentimages.

The methods, systems, computer programs and the like disclosed hereinuse real-time vision object recognition to identify, magnetic inkcharacter recognition (MICR) lines, endorsements, watermarks, accountnumbers, payee identity, payor identity, financial institution identity,deposit amount, appearance of a deposit item, type of a deposit item,text, shapes, logos, colors, locations and other features that can berecognized in a real-time video stream to identify, authenticate andprocess financial documents. Once the financial document is sufficientlyidentified the information is communicated to a financial institution tocomplete a transaction.

It will be understood, that “financial document” or “financialinstrument” as used herein refers to any document that has a monetaryvalue or represents a legally enforceable agreement between two or moreparties regarding a right to payment of money or the obligation to paymoney. Financial documents include, but are not limited to checks, cash,drafts, bonds, shares, bills of exchange, futures, options, moneyorders, promissory notes, deposit slips, securities, invoices,statements and the like.

While embodiments discussed herein are generally described with respectto “real-time video streams” or “real-time video” it will be appreciatedthat the video stream may be captured and stored for later viewing andanalysis. Indeed, in some embodiments video is recorded and stored on amobile device and portions or the entirety of the video may be analyzedat a later time. The later analysis may be conducted on the mobiledevice or loaded onto a different device for analysis. The portions ofthe video that may be stored and analyzed may range from a single frameof video (e.g., a screenshot) to the entirety of the video.Additionally, rather than video, the user may opt to take multiple stillpictures of a financial document to be analyzed immediately or at alater time. Embodiments in which real-time video, recorded video orstill pictures are analyzed are contemplated herein.

FIG. 1 illustrates a general process flow 100 of a method forrecognizing financial document images, in accordance with an embodimentof the invention. As represented by block 110 a mobile device is used tocapture a real-time video stream, wherein one or more images of afinancial document are present. As represented by block 120 a processoranalyzes the real-time video stream to identify images that may be usedto process the financial document. The processor then correlates thecollected images of the financial document to the information needed toprocess the financial document, as represented by block 130. Asrepresented by block 140, if additional images are needed to process thefinancial document the mobile device provides notice to the user. Block150 illustrates that once sufficient images of the financial documenthave been captured to process the financial documents, the mobile devicecommunicates the information to a financial institution to complete atransaction. Embodiments of the process 100, and systems and apparatusfor performing the process 100, are described in greater detail belowwith reference to FIGS. 1-7.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a mobile device 200 that may beconfigured to execute object recognition and AR functionality, inaccordance with specific embodiments of the present invention. A “mobiledevice” 200 may be any mobile communication device, such as a cellulartelecommunications device (i.e., a cell phone or mobile phone), personaldigital assistant (PDA), smartphone, a mobile Internet accessing device,or other mobile device including, but not limited to portable digitalassistants (PDAs), pagers, mobile televisions, gaming devices, laptopcomputers, tablet computers, cameras, video recorders, audio/videoplayers, radios, GPS devices, and any combination of the aforementioned,or the like.

The mobile device 200 may generally include a processor 210 communicablycoupled to such components as a memory 220, user output devices 236,user input devices 240, a network interface 260, a power source 215, aclock or other timer 250, a camera 270, a positioning system device 275(e.g., a Global Positioning System (GPS) device), one or more integratedcircuits 280, etc.

The processor 210, and other processors described herein, may generallyinclude circuitry for implementing communication and/or logic functionsof the mobile device 200. For example, the processor 210 may include adigital signal processor device, a microprocessor device, and variousanalog to digital converters, digital to analog converters, and/or othersupport circuits. Control and signal processing functions of the mobiledevice 200 may be allocated between these devices according to theirrespective capabilities. The processor 210 thus may also include thefunctionality to encode and interleave messages and data prior tomodulation and transmission. The processor 210 may additionally includean internal data modem. Further, the processor 210 may includefunctionality to operate one or more software programs or applications,which may be stored in the memory 220. For example, the processor 210may be capable of operating a connectivity program, such as a webbrowser application 222. The web browser application 222 may then allowthe mobile device 200 to transmit and receive web content, such as, forexample, location-based content and/or other web page content, accordingto a Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), Hypertext Transfer Protocol(HTTP), and/or the like.

The processor 210 may also be capable of operating applications, such asan object recognition application 225. The object recognitionapplication 225 may be downloaded from a server and stored in the memory220 of the mobile device 200. Alternatively, the object recognitionapplication 225 may be pre-installed and stored in a memory in theintegrated circuit 280 or operated directly from a website operablylinked to the mobile device 200 through the network interface 260. Inembodiments, where the object recognition application 225 ispre-installed or run from a website, the user may not need to downloadthe object recognition application 225 from a server.

The integrated circuit 280 may include the necessary circuitry toprovide the object recognition functionality to the mobile device 200.Generally, the integrated circuit 280 will include data storage 271which may include data associated with the objects within a real-timevideo stream that the object recognition application 225 identifies ashaving certain marker(s) (discussed in relation to FIG. 3). Theintegrated circuit 280 and/or data storage 271 may be an integratedcircuit, a microprocessor, a system-on-a-chip, a microcontroller, or thelike. As discussed above, in one embodiment, the integrated circuit 280may provide the AR functionality to the mobile device 200.

Of note, while FIG. 2 illustrates the integrated circuit 280 as aseparate and distinct element within the mobile device 200, it will beapparent to those skilled in the art that the integrated circuit 280functionality may be incorporated within other elements in the mobiledevice 200. For instance, the functionality of the integrated circuit280 may be incorporated within the mobile device memory 220 and/or theprocessor 210. In a particular embodiment, the functionality of theintegrated circuit 280 is incorporated in an element within the mobiledevice 200 that provides object recognition capabilities to the mobiledevice 200. Moreover, the functionality may be part of the firmware ofthe mobile device 200. Still further, the integrated circuit 280functionality may be included in a removable storage device such as anSD card or the like.

The processor 210 may be configured to use the network interface 260 tocommunicate with one or more other devices on a network. In this regard,the network interface 260 may include an antenna 276 operatively coupledto a transmitter 274 and a receiver 272 (together a “transceiver”). Theprocessor 210 may be configured to provide signals to and receivesignals from the transmitter 274 and receiver 272, respectively. Thesignals may include signaling information in accordance with the airinterface standard of the applicable cellular system of the wirelesstelephone network that may be part of the network. In this regard, themobile device 200 may be configured to operate with one or more airinterface standards, communication protocols, modulation types, andaccess types. By way of illustration, the mobile device 200 may beconfigured to operate in accordance with any of a number of first,second, third, and/or fourth-generation communication protocols and/orthe like. For example, the mobile device 200 may be configured tooperate in accordance with second-generation (2G) wireless communicationprotocols IS-136 (time division multiple access (TDMA)), GSM (globalsystem for mobile communication), and/or IS-95 (code division multipleaccess (CDMA)), or with third-generation (3G) wireless communicationprotocols, such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS),CDMA2000, wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and/or time division-synchronous CDMA(TD-SCDMA), with fourth-generation (4G) wireless communicationprotocols, and/or the like. The mobile device 200 may also be configuredto operate in accordance with non-cellular communication mechanisms,such as via a wireless local area network (WLAN) or othercommunication/data networks.

The network interface 260 may also include an object recognitioninterface 273 in order to allow a user to execute some or all of theabove-described processes with respect to the object recognitionapplication 225 and/or the integrated circuit 280. The objectrecognition interface 273 may have access to the hardware, e.g., thetransceiver, and software previously described with respect to thenetwork interface 260. Furthermore, the object recognition interface 273may have the ability to connect to and communicate with an external datastorage on a separate system within the network as a means ofrecognizing the object(s) in the video stream.

As described above, the mobile device 200 may have a user interface thatincludes user output devices 236 and/or user input devices 240. The useroutput devices 236 may include a display 230 (e.g., a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD) or the like) and a speaker 232 or other audio device,which are operatively coupled to the processor 210. The user inputdevices 240, which may allow the mobile device 200 to receive data froma user 310, may include any of a number of devices allowing the mobiledevice 200 to receive data from a user 310, such as a keypad, keyboard,touch-screen, touchpad, microphone, mouse, joystick, stylus, otherpointer device, button, soft key, and/or other input device(s).

The mobile device 200 may further include a power source 215. Generally,the power source 215 is a device that supplies electrical energy to anelectrical load. In one embodiment, power source 215 may convert a formof energy such as solar energy, chemical energy, mechanical energy, etc.to electrical energy. Generally, the power source 215 in the mobiledevice 200 may be a battery, such as a lithium battery, a nickel-metalhydride battery, or the like, that is used for powering variouscircuits, e.g., the transceiver circuit, and other devices that are usedto operate the mobile device 200. Alternatively, the power source 215may be a power adapter that can connect a power supply from a poweroutlet to the mobile device 200. In such embodiments, a power adaptermay be classified as a power source “in” the mobile device.

The mobile device 200 may also include a memory 220 operatively coupledto the processor 210. As used herein, memory may include any computerreadable medium configured to store data, code, or other information.The memory 220 may include volatile memory, such as volatile RandomAccess Memory (RAM) including a cache area for the temporary storage ofdata. The memory 220 may also include non-volatile memory, which can beembedded and/or may be removable. The non-volatile memory mayadditionally or alternatively include an electrically erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or the like.

The memory 220 may store any of a number of applications or programswhich comprise computer-executable instructions/code executed by theprocessor 210 to implement the functions of the mobile device 200described herein. For example, the memory 220 may include suchapplications as an AR application 221 (described herein in relation toFIG. 4), a web browser application 222, an SMS application 223, an emailapplication 224, an object recognition application 225 etc.

Referring to FIG. 3, a block diagram illustrating an object recognitionexperience 300 in which a user 310 utilizes the mobile device 200 tocapture real-time video of an environment 350 that includes at least onefinancial document 360 is shown. The user 310 may be, withoutlimitation, an individual, for example a customer of a financialinstitution seeking to perform a remote deposit, a merchant seeking toverify a financial document as part of a transaction, a financialinstitution, or the like. As denoted earlier, the mobile device 200 maybe any mobile communication device. The mobile device 200 has thecapability of capturing real-time video of the surrounding environment350. The real-time video capture may be by any means known in the art.In one particular embodiment, the mobile device 200 is a mobiletelephone equipped with a camera 270 capable of video capture.

The environment 350 includes at least one financial document 360. Withinthe document, or the document considered as a whole, are a number ofobjects 320. Some of such objects 320 may include a marker 330identifiable to the mobile device 200, in some embodiments through anobject recognition application that is executed on the mobile device 200or within the wireless network. A marker 330 may be any type of markerthat is a distinguishing feature that can be interpreted by the mobiledevice 200 to identify the specific object 320 or the financial document360 as a whole. For instance in identifying a financial document, amarker 330 may be MICR lines, and endorsement, watermarks, accountnumbers, payee identity, payor identity, financial institution identity,deposit amount, appearance of a deposit item, size of the financialinstrument, other text, logos, shapes, colors, etc. Moreover, the marker330 may be a sensor, transmitter, chip, radio frequency identification(RFID) tag, or the like, embedded or otherwise incorporated in thefinancial document. The marker 330 may be any size, shape, etc. Indeed,in some embodiments, the marker 330 may be very small relative to theobject 320 such as a watermark or a security strip in a type ofcurrency, whereas, in other embodiments, the marker 330 may be theentire object 320, such as the size, ratio and proportion of a check.

The marker 330 may also be or include customer data maintained by afinancial institution or merchant, such as transactional data, accounthistory data and biographical data. For example, the mobile device 200may capture a video stream or a financial instrument, such as a check,determine from the image that the check belongs to a customer of thefinancial institution, correlate the check number and amount to atransaction in the customer's transactional history data to verify theauthenticity of the check. Similarly, the mobile device 200 may capturean image of the endorsement line of a financial document and compare theendorsement to a signature on file with the financial institution. Insuch cases, the customer data serves as one of the markers 330 used toprocess the financial document.

In some embodiments, the mobile device accesses one or more servers,networks, applications and/or the like in order to retrieve and/orsearch for information useful in performing object recognition. In someembodiments, the mobile device accesses another application by way of anapplication programming interface or API. In this regard, the mobiledevice may quickly search and/or retrieve information from the otherprogram without requiring additional authentication steps or othergateway steps.

In some embodiments, the mobile device 200 accesses one or moredatabases or datastores (not shown) to search for and/or retrieveinformation related to the object 320 and/or marker 330. In someembodiments, the mobile device 200 accesses one or more datastores localto the mobile device 200 and in other embodiments, the mobile device 200accesses datastores remote to the mobile device. In some embodiments,the mobile device 200 accesses both a memory and/or datastore local tothe mobile device 200 as well as a datastore remote from the mobiledevice 200.

In some embodiments, the marker 330 is not actually a feature associatedwith the financial document 360. For instance, the marker 330 may besome type of identifiable feature, such as objects, text, locations andother features that indicate that the object 320 may be used to processthe financial document 360. The marker 330 may be anything that enablesthe mobile device 200 to interpret to a desired confidence level whatthe object 320 is. For example, the mobile device 200 may capture avideo of a financial document 360, collect the user's position using thepositioning system device 275 and correlate that position to the addressof a customer's residence or place of business. The mobile device 200may then also capture a real-time video of a signature being applied tothe financial document by someone writing with his left hand, which isconsistent with the customer's biographical data maintained by thefinancial institution, and conclude that the signature on the financialdocument belongs to the customer and is sufficient to process thefinancial document. Accordingly, the markers 330 associated with thelocation of where the signature was applied and the individual'sbiographical data were sufficient to identify images of the financialdocument that could be used to process the financial document withoutrelying on the markers 330 of the financial document.

While FIG. 3 illustrates that the objects 320 with markers 330 onlyinclude a single marker 330, it will be appreciated that the object 320may have any number of markers 330 with each equally capable ofidentifying the object 320. Similarly, multiple markers 330 may beidentified by the mobile device 200 such that the combination of themarkers 330 may be utilized to identify the object 320. For example, themobile device 200 may utilize the markers 330 of the image of a routingnumber from a check and text printed on the check to identify theissuing financial institution.

In some embodiments, an marker 330 may be the location of the object320. In such embodiments, the mobile device 200 may utilize GPS softwareto determine the location of the user 310. As noted above, alocation-based marker 330 could be utilized in conjunction with othernon-location-based markers 330 identifiable and recognized by the mobiledevice 200 to identify the object 320. However, in some embodiments, alocation-based marker 330 may be the only marker 330. For instance, insuch embodiments, the mobile device 200 may utilize GPS software todetermine the location of the user 310 and a compass device or softwareto determine the direction or tilt of the mobile device 200 in order toidentify the object 320. In still further embodiments, the mobile device200 does not utilize any GPS data in the identification. In suchembodiments, markers 330 utilized to identify the object 320 are notlocation-based.

FIG. 4 illustrates the mobile device 200 wherein the user 310 hasexecuted an object recognition application 225 and an AR application 221and a real-time video capture device (e.g., camera 270) is utilized todisplay the surrounding environment 350, which includes a financialdocument 360, on the display 230 of the mobile device 200. The mobiledevice 200 is configured to utilize markers 330 to identify objects 320,for example payee information, that may be used to process the financialdocument. In some embodiments of the invention, as shown in FIG. 4, themobile device may indicate to the user 310 identified objects 320 bydisplaying a virtual image 400 on the mobile device display 230. Asillustrated, if an object 320 does not have any markers 330 (orinsufficient markers 330 to yield object identification), the object 320will be displayed without an associated virtual image 400.

The object recognition application 225 may use any type of means inorder to identify desired objects 320. For instance, the objectrecognition application 225 may utilize one or more pattern recognitionalgorithms to analyze objects in the financial document 360 and comparewith markers 330 in data storage 271 which may be contained within themobile device 200 (such as within integrated circuit 280) or externallyon a separate system accessible via the connected network. For example,the pattern recognition algorithms may include decision trees, logisticregression, Bayes classifiers, support vector machines, kernelestimation, perceptrons, clustering algorithms, regression algorithms,categorical sequence labeling algorithms, real-valued sequence labelingalgorithms, parsing algorithms, general algorithms for predictingarbitrarily-structured labels such as Bayesian networks and Markovrandom fields, ensemble learning algorithms such as bootstrapaggregating, boosting, ensemble averaging, combinations thereof, and thelike.

Upon identifying an object 320 within the real-time video stream, insome embodiments, the AR application 221 is configured to superimpose avirtual image 400 on the mobile device display 230. The virtual image400 is generally a tab or link displayed such that the user 310 may“select” the virtual image 400 and retrieve information related to theidentified object. The information may include any desired informationassociated with the selected object and may range from basic informationto greatly detailed information. In some embodiments, the virtual image400 may provide the user 310 with an Internet hyperlink to furtherinformation on the object 320. The information may include, for example,all types of media, such as text, images, clipart, video clips, movies,or any other type of information desired. In yet other embodiments, theinformation related to the identified object 320 may be visualized bythe user 310 without “selecting” the virtual image 400

In embodiments in which the virtual image 400 provides an interactivetab to the user 310, the user 310 may select the virtual image 400 byany conventional means for interaction with the mobile device 200. Forinstance, in some embodiments, the user 310 may utilize an input device240 such as a keyboard to highlight and select the virtual image 400 inorder to retrieve the information. In a particular embodiment, themobile device display 230 includes a touch screen that the user mayemploy to select the virtual image 400 utilizing the user's finger, astylus, or the like.

In some embodiments, and depending on the nature of the user (i.e.customer of a financial institution, merchant etc.), selecting thevirtual image 400 will cause the AR application 221 to present the user310 with the opportunity to take a specific action, such as contacting(via e-mail, chat, phone call etc.) the issuing financial institution,viewing transaction data relating to the account associated with thefinancial document, verifying sufficient funds to cover the amountspecified in the financial document, visually comparing the endorsementon a check to an image file of a signature associated with the account,pull up additional information about a payee, authorizing a payment,approving a transfer of funds, etc.

In some embodiments, the virtual image 400 is not interactive and simplyprovides information to the user 310 by superimposing the virtual image400 onto the display 230. For example, in some instances it may bebeneficial for the AR application 221 to merely identify an object 320,so the user 310 has a visual indication that the mobile device 200 hascaptured an image that may be used to process the financial document360, rather than provide extensive detail that requires interaction withthe virtual image 400. The mobile device 200 is capable of beingtailored to a user's desired preferences.

The virtual image 400 may be displayed at any size on the mobile devicedisplay 230. The virtual image 400 may be small enough that it ispositioned on or next to the object 320 being identified such that theobject 320 remains discernable behind the virtual image 320.Additionally, the virtual image 400 may be semi-transparent such thatthe object 320 remains discernable behind the virtual image. In otherembodiments, the virtual image 400 may be large enough to completelycover the object 320 portrayed on the display 230. Indeed, in someembodiments, the virtual image 400 may cover a majority or the entiretyof the mobile device display 230.

The user 310 may opt to execute the object recognition application 225and AR application 221 at any desired moment and begin video capture andanalysis. However, in some embodiments (e.g. in situations where imagesof a number of financial documents are being captured over an extendedperiod of time, such as in a retail environment), the object recognitionapplication 225 and AR application 221 include an “always on” feature inwhich the mobile device 200 is continuously capturing video andanalyzing the objects 320 within the video stream. In such embodiments,the object recognition application 225 may be configured to alert theuser 310 that an insufficient number of objects 320 have been identifiedto process the financial document 360 or that a particular object 320(e.g. payor information from an individual that has previously issuedbad checks) has been identified. The user 310 may set any number of userpreferences to tailor the object recognition experience 300 to theirneeds. Additionally, it will be appreciated that the “always on” featurein which video is continuously captured may consume the mobile devicepower source 215 more quickly. Thus, in some embodiments, the “alwayson” feature may disengage if a determined event occurs such as low powersource 215, low levels of light for an extended period of time (e.g.,such as if the mobile device 200 is in a user's pocket obstructing aclear view of the environment 350 from the mobile device 200), if themobile device 200 remains stationary (thus receiving the same videostream) for an extended period of time, the user sets a certain time ofday to disengage, etc. Conversely, if the “always on” feature isdisengaged due to the occurrence of such an event, the user 310 may optfor the “always on” feature to re-engage after the duration of thedisengaging event (e.g., power source 215 is re-charged, light levelsare increased, etc.).

In some embodiments, the user 310 may identify objects 320 that theobject recognition application 225 does not identify and add it to thedata storage 271 with desired information in order to be identifiedand/or displayed in the future. For instance, the user 310 may select anunidentified object 320, such as initials entered above a correctionwithin a financial document, and enter information associated with theobject 320 to be saved in the data storage 271 for future use by theobject recognition application 225. Furthermore, in cases where theobject information is within the data storage 271, but the objectrecognition application 225 fails to identify the object 320 (e.g., thefinancial instrument is smudged or damaged making a quality imagecapture difficult or the marker 330 simply was not identified), the user310 may select the object 320 and associate it with an object 320already stored in the data storage 271. In such cases, the objectrecognition application 225 may be capable of updating the markers 330for the object 320 in order to identify the object in future real-timevideo streams.

In some embodiments, the processor 210 may also be capable of operatingone or more applications, such as one or more applications functioningas an artificial intelligence (“AI”) engine. The processor 210 mayrecognize objects that it has identified in prior uses by way of the AIengine. In this way, the processor 210 may recognize specific objectsand/or classes of objects, and store information related to therecognized objects in one or more memories and/or databases discussedherein. Once the AI engine has thereby “learned” of an object and/orclass of objects, the AI engine may run concurrently with and/orcollaborate with other modules or applications described herein toperform the various steps of the methods discussed. For example, in someembodiments the AI engine recognizes an object that has been recognizedbefore and stored by the AI engine. The AI engine may then communicateto another application or module of the mobile device, an indicationthat the object may be the same object previously recognized. In thisregard, the AI engine may provide a baseline or starting point fromwhich to determine the nature of the object. In other embodiments, theAI engine's recognition of an object is accepted as the finalrecognition of the object.

In addition, in some embodiments, the user 310 may opt to edit theinformation or add to the information provided by the virtual image 400.For instance, the user 310 may opt to include user-specific informationabout a certain object 320 such that the information may be displayedupon a future identification of the object 320. For instance, the user310 may add a note associated with a specific payor that the payor haspreviously forged financial documents or presented false identificationinformation, so that this information is provided in the future if themobile device 200 captures an image of a financial document with thatindividual as the payor. Conversely, in some embodiments, the user 310may opt to delete or hide an object 320 from being identified and avirtual image 400 associated therewith being displayed on the mobiledevice display 230. For instance, if the user is capturing images of anumber of financial documents known to have issued from a certainfinancial institution, the user 310 may hide any object 320 identifyingthe issuing financial institution so as not to crowd the display 230.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flow diagram of a process flow for acomputer-implemented method 500 for recognizing financial documentimages, in accordance with embodiments of the invention. As shown inFIG. 5, in some embodiments, steps in the computer-implemented method500 are performed by the user of a mobile device, the mobile device,and/or the financial institution server. The computer-implemented method500 allows the user to capture a real-time video stream of a financialdocument, analyze and correlate images of the financial document to theimages needed to process the financial document, interact with theidentified images, receive notice of additional images needed to processthe financial document and communicate information about the financialdocument to a financial institution to complete a transaction.

As represented by block 510, the user presents one or more financialdocuments (e.g. a check, deposit slip, currency etc.). At block 520, themobile device captures a real-time video stream of the financialdocument. In an exemplary embodiment, the user operates a mobilesmartphone with a built in camera to capture the real-time video stream.The video may be displayed concurrently in a display on the mobiledevice or the video may be streamed to another device for display. Aspreviously discussed, in some embodiment, the real-time video stream isalways on, or on until the battery reaches a pre-determined level. Insome embodiments, the user will be required to authenticate himself orherself as an authorized user before the mobile device, objectrecognition application 225 and/or AR application 221 will operate. Insome instances the authentication will be in the form of a password,finger swipe pattern, challenge question etc. The authentication mayalso be taken from the user's biometric data such as an iris scan, palmprint, fingerprint, or the like. This biometric information may becollected directly by the mobile device or by a suitable collectionapparatus or system operatively connected to the mobile device. Thisauthentication step may be required at one or more of the stepsdescribed in process flow 500 and discussed below, including capturing areal-time video stream 520, presenting indicators of identifying imagesto a display 540 and communicating instructions to a financialinstitution 590.

In block 530, the mobile device analyzes the real-time video stream toidentify images of the financial document that may be used to processthe financial document. In some instances, the information or imageneeded to process a financial document is set by the receiving financialinstitution and the amount, nature, quality, type etc. of images thatmust be captured to process the financial document will be unique to thefinancial institution. The information necessary to process a financialdocument may also be set by law, regulation, standards organizations,industry best practices etc. In some embodiments, the informationrelating to what images are required to process a financial documentwill be stored in a memory that is accessible to the mobile device (e.g.memory 220). In other embodiments, this information will be dynamicallycollected, for instance from a website or intranet. In some embodiments,the user will be presented with the opportunity to identify the type offinancial document being scanned, e.g. identifying it as money order orshare, and thereby determine the images needed to process the financialdocument. In other embodiments, the object recognition application 225,or another application will identify the type of financial documentdirectly from the captured image. For instance, the object recognitionapplication 225, may identify the MICR lines, or similarly standardizedimages, and identify the financial document as a check. Thisidentification will not only indicate the nature, quality and type ofimages that needs to be captured to process the document but may directthe application to other areas of the document with images that may berelevant to processing the document, e.g. if the object recognitionapplication 225 identifies the document as a check, it can automaticallylook for a check amount number, payor information etc.

As represented by block 540, in certain embodiments, the mobile devicewill present on a display, one or more indicators, each indicator beingassociated with an image that may be used to process the financialdocument. In certain embodiments, such indicators will take the form ofa virtual image 400, as discussed herein. In other embodiments, theindicators will take the form of a status bar, image painting,percentage indicator, or the like indicating the amount of imagescollected as compared to the number of images remaining to be collectedbefore the financial document may be processed. As shown in block 550,the user in some instances, will be able to interact with the indicatorspresented on the display. In some embodiments, the user will be able toselect an indicator to gather additional information relating to theimage. For instance, if an indicator associated with a payee ispresented, the user can select the indicator and additional informationabout the payee may be presented on the display or selecting theindicator may take the user to a website associated with the payee. Byway of another example, in use, a merchant may be presented with a checkin connection with a retail transaction. The merchant can use thepresent invention to capture an image of the check with a mobile device,such as a hand held scanner that is connected to a display. In additionto being able to determine when sufficient images of the check have beencaptured to process the check, the merchant may be presented on thedisplay an indicator associated with the check amount. The merchant maybe able to select that indicator and receive an indication from thefinancial institution from which the check is drawn as to whether thereare sufficient funds in the customer's account to cover the amount ofthe check. As yet another example, a user may capture an image of aninvoice and an indicator or indicators may appear to indicate sufficientimages of the invoice of have been captured to arrange for payment ofthe invoice by the user's financial institution (e.g. the issuer's nameand address, the amount due, an invoice number, the user's accountnumber, etc.). The user may be able to select one such indicator toauthorize a one time payment of the invoice. The user may also be ableto select an indicator associated with the image of the invoice to setup recurring payments to the issuer of the invoice.

In block 560, the mobile device correlates the collected images of thefinancial document to the information needed to process the financialdocuments. As previously discussed, the information needed to processthe financial documents may be set by law, regulation, policy,procedure, best practices etc. If the mobile device determines thatadditional images are needed to collect sufficient information toprocess the financial document, as represented by block 570, the mobiledevice provides notice to the user that additional images are needed.Such notice may consist of specific instructions of what images need tobe captured or merely indicate that the user needs to capture additionalimages in order to process the financial document. In use, lighting,shadows, wrinkles, smudges or other defects in the document etc. as wellas camera angle, distance from the financial document etc. may inhibitthe mobile device from capturing a sufficient image of the financialdocument to identify all information necessary to process the document.By capturing a video stream and moving the mobile device around thefinancial document to different quadrants of the document, tilting thecamera at different angles, zooming in and/or out from the financialdocument the mobile device will capture a fuller image of the financialdocument. The processor of the mobile device can analyze the imagescaptured and determine what aspects of the image may be enhanced (e.g.insufficient pixels have been captured as compared to a test image orquality standard), and what actions of the user may be done to capturethe necessary images. For example, if the user is at such an angle tothe financial document that the image capture device is only getting agood image of the left half of the document, the mobile device maynotify the user that it needs to move the image capture device to theright in order to capture the additional images needed to process thefinancial document. At block 580, the user adjusts the mobile device tocapture the additional images and the flow 500 of recognizing financialdocument images moves back to analyzing the real-time video stream toidentify images that may be used to process the financial document atblock 530 and proceeds on until there are no additional images that arerequired to process the financial document.

As represented by block 590, once sufficient images of the financialdocument have been captured to process the financial document, themobile device communicates the necessary information to a financialinstitution. The communication of the information to the financialinstitution may occur automatically after sufficient images have beencaptured. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the user 310 will receivenotification that sufficient images have been captured and may berequired to affirmatively instruct the AR application, mobile deviceetc. to communicate the necessary information to the financialinstitution, for example by swiping or tapping the image of thefinancial document or actuating an indicator or other button presentedon the display 230. In some embodiments, communicating information to afinancial institution will include encrypting the data, or the like,before it is transmitted to the financial institution in order toprotect the information from being intercepted during transmission.

In some embodiments, communicating the information associated with thefinancial document to a financial institution 590 may involve thetransfer of the actual image of the financial document captured by themobile device to the financial institution. In such embodiments, theuser manipulates the mobile device capturing images of the financialdocument and the mobile device sends a high quality image of thefinancial document (e.g., a still frame of the real-time video with themost complete image of the financial document) or compiles the capturedpixels from multiple images into a single image of the financialdocument. In other embodiments, the mobile device will use the captureof the real-time video stream to recognize information from thefinancial document and use this information to create a substituteimage, such as an enhanced payment order, that correlates to theinformation in the financial document. In such embodiments, the mobiledevice will combine recognized data from the real-time data stream withimage data to create a clearer image. For instance, if the mobile devicecaptures the image of a handwritten check, the mobile device mayrecognize the payment amount and the payee from the handwriting on thecheck and create a substitute image wherein this information appears intyped text and numbers rather than in the original handwritten form. Insuch embodiments, the substitute image may then be communicated to thefinancial institution for completion of the transaction.

As shown in block 595, the financial institution processes thetransaction embodied by the financial document. For example, if acustomer of a financial institution used an embodiment of the inventionto deposit a paycheck, the customer might scan her paycheck with amobile device (e.g. a mobile phone) until the object recognitionapplication and/or AR application was able to collect an image of theamount, payor name, payor account information, issuing financialinstitution routing number and a verified signature. The customer maythen also scan a deposit slip issued by the financial institution filledout to deposit the amount of the paycheck into a savings account. Insome embodiments, the user may scan a blank deposit slip issued by thefinancial institution and the mobile device may present indicators inthe available fields of the deposit slip that the user can interact withto enter the necessary deposit information using the mobile device. Inyet other embodiments, after the deposit slip is scanned the applicationmay populate the identified fields in the deposit slip with theappropriate information from the paycheck. Also, a blank deposit slipmay have been previously scanned by the user and stored in the memory ofthe mobile device so that it is not necessary to scan a new blankdeposit slip to complete a transaction. At some point, the mobile devicemay indicate to the user that she needs to scan an image of theendorsement of the paycheck before the documents can be processed. Theuser captures a video of the endorsement on the check and the mobiledevice communicates the images to the financial institution, which inturn deposits the amount of the paycheck into the user's account. Inanother example a user may use the mobile device to scan a statementissued by a credit card company. The user manipulates the mobile deviceuntil the mobile device captures sufficient images from the credit cardstatement to pay the credit card issuer. Such images may include thecredit card issuer's name and logo from the top of the statement, thecredit card number, the user's name and address, the current balance andminimum payment due and the date the payment must be submitted. Whilescanning the statement, interactive indicators may appear on the displayof the mobile device over the minimum payment and/or current balanceallowing the user to select the indicator and pay the associated amount(i.e. the minimum balance or current balance). The mobile device maythen communicate the collected information about the credit cardstatement to a financial institution to complete the transfer of fundsfrom the user's account with the financial institution to the creditcard issuer.

It should be understood that every step of flow 500 does not need tooccur in the order described herein, and in some instances will notoccur at all. Different steps in the computer-implemented method can beskipped or moved around and still accomplish the goal of recognizingfinancial document images. For example, the mobile device may onlydisplay indicators associated with images that may be used to processthe financial document, block 540, after the mobile devices has capturedall of the necessary images. Accordingly, the steps disclosed herein arenot limiting to the exact order discussed.

Referring now to FIGS. 6 and 7, a series of exemplary display pages 600and 700 of a mobile device 200 consistent with an embodiment of thepresent invention are provided. It will be understood, that in someembodiments, each of the pages 600 and 700 are displayed on the display230 of the mobile device 200. It will also be understood that the mobiledevice 200 is configured, in some embodiments to navigate from page 600to page 700 and/or vice versa either by actuating one of the buttons605,705 or one of the other input devices 240. It will be furtherunderstood that the display pages 600 and 700 can be embodied asportions of the AR Application 221, as Internet web pages and/or thelike. In addition, it will be understood that, in some embodiments, theapparatus having the process flow 100 and 500 are configured toimplement any one or more of the embodiments of the present inventiondescribed and/or contemplated herein in connection with the displaypages 600 and 700.

Referring now to FIG. 6, it will be understood that in some embodiments,the display page 600 is displayed in connection with presenting one ormore indicators associated with an image that may be used to process afinancial document, as represented by block 540 of an apparatus having aprocess flow 500 and/or in connection with providing notice to a user ofadditional images needed to process the financial document asrepresented by block 140 of an apparatus having a process flow 100.Alternatively, the display page 600 is displayed after the usernavigates to the page from another display page, e.g. 700. As shown, inthis embodiment, the display page 600 includes an image painting 610(i.e. visual reproduction of the amount and quality of the imagecollected), and indicator 620 of the percentage of the completed imagecapture and instructions 630 for capturing the additional images neededto complete the image capture to a sufficient degree to process thefinancial document. As illustrated, the user has only captured 47% ofthe images necessary to process the financial document 620. The mobiledevice is also prompting the user to move the camera to the right andtilt the camera towards and away from the financial document to captureadditional images 630.

Referring now to FIG. 7, the display page 700, in some embodiments isdisplayed in connection with presenting one or more indicatorsassociated with an image that may be used to process a financialdocument, as represented by block 540 of an apparatus having a processflow 500. Referring to FIG. 3, after identifying an object 320 (e.g anendorsement, MICR lines) within the real-time video stream, the mobiledevice 200, in some embodiments, is configured to superimpose a virtualimage 400 on the mobile device display 230. In the embodiment shown inFIG. 8, the display page 800 includes a plurality of virtual images710-740 superimposed over the image of the financial document 360. Theimage of the financial document 360, as shown in display page 800, maybe a display of the image in the real-time video stream or alternativelymay be the completed image painting discussed in references to displaypage 700. In such embodiments, the user may be able to actuate thevirtual images 710-740 to perform certain functions or collectadditional information about the identified image. For instance, theuser may actuate virtual image 710, which is associated with the routingnumber of the financial institution from which the financial document isdrawn. Actuating virtual image 710 may allow the user to contact thefinancial institution to inquire about the account, payor, transactionetc. By way of further example, virtual image 730, as shown in displaypage 800, is associated with the signature line on the financialdocument 360. By selecting the virtual image 730, the user may bepresented with a side by side comparison of the signature on thefinancial document and a signature file associated with the accountenabling the user, the AR application, or the like to compare the twosignatures. Similarly, actuating the virtual image 730 may presentinformation about the signatory collected from customer data held byfinancial institution. In yet another example, virtual image 720 isassociated with the payor information. If a merchant submitted thefinancial document for payment from the payor's financial institutionbut the check did not clear due to insufficient funds, the merchant maybe able to use the mobile device to scan the financial document andgenerate automatic communications to the payor by selecting the virtualimage 720. Similarly, a merchant may be able to actuate the virtualimage 720 to collect additional information about the payor, such as adriver's license number, phone number, membership in the merchant'sloyalty program etc. to further validate the check. Such information maybe collected from data maintained by the merchant or from a financialinstitution or vendor with which the merchant partners to validate itschecks. As yet one further example, in some embodiments, the user may beable to determine whether the account associated with the financialdocument has sufficient funds to cover the transaction by selecting thevirtual image 740. In other embodiments, the virtual image 740 willautomatically present this information without the user having to selectthe virtual image. For instance, the virtual image 740 associated withthe check amount may be displayed as green if the account has sufficientfunds and red if there are insufficient funds.

While the foregoing disclosure discusses illustrative embodiments, itshould be noted that various changes and modifications could be madeherein without departing from the scope of the described aspects and/orembodiments as defined by the appended claims. Furthermore, althoughelements of the described aspects and/or embodiments may be described orclaimed in the singular, the plural is contemplated unless limitation tothe singular is explicitly stated. Additionally, all or a portion of anyembodiment may be utilized with all or a portion of any otherembodiment, unless stated otherwise.

The systems, methods, computer program products, etc. described herein,may be utilized or combined with any other suitable AR-relatedapplication. Non-limiting examples of other suitable AR-relatedapplications include those described in the following U.S. ProvisionalPatent Applications, the entirety of each of which is incorporatedherein by reference:

U.S. Provisional Ser. No. Filed On Title 61/450,213 Mar. 8, 2011Real-Time Video Image Analysis Applications for Commerce Activity61/478,409 Apr. 22, 2011 Presenting Offers on a Mobile CommunicationDevice 61/478,412 Apr. 22, 2011 Real-Time Video Analysis for RewardOffers 61/478,394 Apr. 22, 2011 Real-Time Video Image Analysis forProviding Targeted Offers 61/478,399 Apr. 22, 2011 Real-Time AnalysisInvolving Real Estate Listings 61/478,402 Apr. 22, 2011 Real-Time VideoImage Analysis for an Appropriate Payment Account 61/478,405 Apr. 22,2011 Presenting Investment-Related Information on a Mobile CommunicationDevice 61/478,393 Apr. 22, 2011 Real-Time Image Analysis for MedicalSavings Plans 61/478,397 Apr. 22, 2011 Providing Data Associated WithRelationships Between Individuals and Images 61/478,408 Apr. 22, 2011Identifying Predetermined Objects in a Video Stream Captured by a MobileDevice 61/478,400 Apr. 22, 2011 Real-Time Image Analysis for ProvidingHealth Related Information 61/478,411 Apr. 22, 2011 Retrieving ProductInformation From Embedded Sensors Via Mobile Device Video Analysis61/478,403 Apr. 22, 2011 Providing Social Impact Information AssociatedWith Identified Products or Businesses 61/478,407 Apr. 22, 2011Providing Information Associated With an Identified Representation of anObject 61/478,415 Apr. 22, 2011 Providing Location Identification ofAssociated Individuals Based on Identifying the Individuals inConjunction With a Live Video Stream 61/478,419 Apr. 22, 2011 VehicleRecognition 61/478,417 Apr. 22, 2011 Collective Network of AugmentedReality Users 61/508,985 Jul. 18, 2011 Providing Information RegardingMedical Conditions 61/508,946 Jul. 18, 2011 Dynamically IdentifyingIndividuals From a Captured Image 61/508,980 Jul. 18, 2011 ProvidingAffinity Program Information 61/508,821 Jul. 18, 2011 ProvidingInformation Regarding Sports Movements 61/508,850 Jul. 18, 2011Assessing Environmental Characteristics in a Video Stream Captured by aMobile Device 61/508,966 Jul. 18, 2011 Real-Time Video Image Analysisfor Providing Virtual Landscaping 61/508,969 Jul. 18, 2011 Real-TimeVideo Image Analysis for Providing Virtual Interior Design 61/508,971Jul. 18, 2011 Real-Time Video Image Analysis for Providing DeepeningCustomer Value 61/508,764 Jul. 18, 2011 Conducting FinancialTransactions Based on Identification of Individuals in an AugmentedReality Environment 61/508,973 Jul. 18, 2011 Real-Time Video ImageAnalysis for Providing Security 61/508,976 Jul. 18, 2011 ProvidingRetail Shopping Assistance

While certain exemplary embodiments have been described and shown in theaccompanying drawings, it is to be understood that such embodiments aremerely illustrative of and not restrictive on the broad invention, andthat this invention not be limited to the specific constructions andarrangements shown and described, since various other changes,combinations, omissions, modifications and substitutions, in addition tothose set forth in the above paragraphs, are possible. Those skilled inthe art will appreciate that various adaptations and modifications ofthe just described embodiments can be configured without departing fromthe scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, it is to be understoodthat, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may bepracticed other than as specifically described herein.

1. A method for processing financial documents, comprising: capturing,via a mobile device, a real-time video stream that includes images ofone or more financial documents; analyzing, via a processor, thereal-time video stream to identify images that may be used to processthe financial document; correlating the captured images of the financialdocument to the information needed to process the financial document;providing notice to a user of additional images needed to process thefinancial document; and communicating the information associated withthe financial document to a financial institution to complete atransaction once sufficient images of the financial document have beencaptured to process the financial document.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the financial document is a check, cash, draft, bond, share,bill of exchange, future, option, money order, promissory note, depositslip, security, invoice or statement
 3. The method of claim 1, whereinthe notice provided to the user comprises instructions to the user ofhow to manipulate the mobile device to capture the required images. 4.The method of claim 1, wherein the transaction is a deposit, transfer,sale, payment or exchange.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprisingpresenting one or more indicators via a display of the mobile device,each indicator being associated with an image that may be used toprocess the financial document.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein theone or more indicators are interactive allowing the user to accessadditional information associated with the images.
 7. The method ofclaim 5, wherein the one or more indicators are a representation of theamount of images captured as compared to the number of images remainingto be captured before the financial document may be processed.
 8. Themethod of claim 5, wherein the one or more indicators are interactiveallowing the user to take an action using the information associatedwith the image.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the action is selectedfrom one of making a payment, transferring funds to a financialinstitution or depositing funds with a financial institution.
 10. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising the step of creating a substituteimage using the captured images of the financial document and whereincommunicating the information associated with the financial document toa financial institution comprises communicating the substitute image tothe financial institution to complete a transaction.
 11. The method ofclaim 10, wherein the substitute image is an enhanced payment order. 12.An apparatus, comprising: a device for capturing a real-time videostream of a user's environment, the video stream including images of oneor more financial documents; a display operably connected to the device;a processor operably connected to the device and the display andconfigured to: analyze the real-time video stream to identify imagesthat may be used to process the financial document; correlate thecaptured images of the financial document to the information needed toprocess the financial document; provide notice to the user of additionalimages needed to process the financial document; and a communicationdevice, operably connected to the processor for communicating theinformation associated with the financial document to a financialinstitution to complete a transaction once sufficient images of thefinancial document have been captured to process the financial document.13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the financial document is acheck, cash, draft, bond, share, bill of exchange, future, option, moneyorder, promissory note, deposit slip, security, invoice or statement.14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the device is a mobile device.15. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the notice provided to the usercomprises instructions to the user of how to manipulate the device tocapture the required images.
 16. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein thetransaction is a deposit, transfer, sale, payment or exchange.
 17. Theapparatus of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured topresent one or more indicators via the display, each indicator beingassociated with an image that may be used to process the financialdocument.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the one or moreindicators are interactive allowing the user to access additionalinformation associated with the images.
 19. The apparatus of claim 17,wherein the one or more indicators are a representation of the amount ofimages captured as compared to the number of images remaining to becaptured before the financial document may be processed.
 20. Theapparatus of claim 17, wherein the one or more indicators areinteractive allowing the user to take an action using the informationassociated with the image.
 21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein theaction is selected from one of making a payment, transferring funds to afinancial institution or depositing funds with a financial institution.22. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to create a substitute image using the captured images of thefinancial document and wherein communicating the information associatedwith the financial document to a financial institution comprisescommunicating the substitute image to the financial institution tocomplete a transaction.
 23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein thesubstitute image is an enhanced payment order.
 24. A computer programproduct, comprising: a non-transitory computer-readable medium havingcomputer-executable code stored thereon, the computer executable codecomprising: a first code portion stored in the memory and configured tocapture, via a mobile device, a real-time video stream that includesimages of one or more financial documents; a second code portion storedin the memory and configured to analyze the real-time video stream toidentify images that may be used to process the financial document; athird code portion stored in the memory and configured to correlate thecaptured images of the financial document to the information needed toprocess the financial document; a fourth code portion stored in thememory and configured to provide notice to a user of additional imagesneeded to process the financial document; and a fifth code portionconfigured to communicate the information associated with the financialdocument to a financial institution to complete a transaction oncesufficient images of the financial document have been captured toprocess the financial document.
 25. The computer program product ofclaim 24, wherein the financial document is a check, cash, draft, bond,share, bill of exchange, future, option, money order, promissory note,deposit slip, security, invoice or statement.
 26. The computer programproduct of claim 24, wherein the notice provided to the user comprisesinstructions to the user of how to manipulate the device to capture therequired images.
 27. The computer program product of claim 24, whereinthe transaction is a deposit, transfer, sale, payment or exchange. 28.The computer program product of claim 24, further comprising a sixthcode portion stored in the memory and configured to present one or moreindicators via a display, each indicator being associated with an imagethat may be used to process the financial document.
 29. The computerprogram product of claim 28, wherein the one or more indicators areinteractive allowing the user to access additional informationassociated with the images.
 30. The computer program product of claim28, wherein the one or more indicators are a representation of theamount of images captured as compared to the number of images remainingto be captured before the financial document may be processed.
 31. Thecomputer program product of claim 28, wherein the one or more indicatorsare interactive allowing the user to take an action using theinformation associated with the image.
 32. The computer program productof claim 31, wherein the action is selected from one of making apayment, transferring funds to a financial institution or depositingfunds with a financial institution.
 33. The computer program product ofclaim 24, further comprising a seventh code portion stored in the memoryand configured to create a substitute image using the captured images ofthe financial document and wherein communicating the informationassociated with the financial document to a financial institutioncomprises communicating the substitute image to the financialinstitution to complete a transaction.
 34. The computer program productof claim 33, wherein the substitute image is an enhanced payment order.